Trending topic alert: The mysterious fan site administrator of a top celebrity has been exposed.

With their amazing willpower and familiarity with the terrain, Li Fu and his two companions trudged through the rainy night forest for several hours, falling countless times, getting covered in mud, and almost completely exhausted. Finally, just before dawn, they returned to Yuntou Village in a disheveled state.

Upon entering the village, they immediately caused a commotion. The executive director and crew members, who were already extremely anxious, felt a pang of worry when they saw them looking like this, but Zhou Ai and Chu Yi were nowhere to be seen.

"Dr. Li! How are they? Where are Teacher Zhou and Teacher Chu?!" The executive director rushed forward, his voice trembling.

Li Fu was so exhausted he could barely speak. He leaned on his knees, panting heavily, and shook his head, his face ashen. A Liang, also panting, managed to say, "...The road...the road has completely collapsed...we can't go down...they...they fell too deep...we can't...we have to come back..."

These words struck him like a bolt from the blue. The executive director felt dizzy and his legs went weak. He almost fainted, but fortunately, he was supported by the staff next to him.

The production team was under immense pressure. If anything happened to Zhou Ai or Chu Yi, the consequences would be unimaginable. The entire production team could be ruined.

The executive director, clinging to the last shred of his sanity, made a trembling call to Zhou Song. When the call connected, he almost sobbed and incoherently reported that Zhou Ai had gone missing while rescuing someone and was currently in critical condition.

Zhou Song remained silent for a good ten seconds on the other end of the phone, then simply said, "I understand, keep communication open" before hanging up.

Next, the executive director reluctantly contacted Cheng Yingzhi. Cheng Yingzhi's reaction was much stronger than Zhou Song's; he was extremely shocked and anxious, and immediately expressed that he would use all possible resources to assist in the rescue.

However, the real difficulties are undeniable. The unique and complex terrain of the mountainous region of Guizhou, coupled with persistent severe weather and multiple landslides triggered by torrential rains, makes it extremely difficult and slow for professional rescue teams to enter the area. Aerial rescue operations also cannot be carried out immediately due to weather and visibility issues.

Just as the production team and the local government were urgently discussing rescue plans and were in a state of panic, the news was leaked at some point.

The hashtags #ZhouAiDisappearsWhileRecordingVarietyShow# and #ZhouAiFateUnknown# spread like wildfire, instantly igniting the entire internet and topping the trending search list.

Social media platforms exploded instantly, with fans panicking and worrying, passersby discussing, and the media relentlessly asking questions... all sorts of true and false messages and speculations flew around, pushing the production team, Zhou Ai, and Chu Yi into the spotlight, with the pressure increasing exponentially.

【Oh my god! How could they disappear?!】

Praying for your safety! Please be alright!

What kind of variety show is this? Is it that dangerous?

[I heard another guest also went missing?]

What was the production team thinking? What safety measures were in place?!

Will the Zhou family let the production team off the hook?

[Chu Yi? Is it that amazing doctor Chu Yi? He also...?]

[Oh no, oh no, I don't even want to think about the consequences...]

-

Meanwhile, in the mountains, Zhou Ai was carrying Chu Yi on his back, struggling to find a path upwards across a ravaged landslide.

Zhou Ai sensed that Chu Yi became even more stiff and silent after hearing his teasing remark about "lovebirds," and even his breathing became softer. Only the arms tightly wrapped around his neck and the hot cheek pressed against his shoulder proved that the other was present.

He chuckled silently, ceasing his teasing. He steadied his hands more firmly on the person on his back and said in a deep voice, "Then let's keep climbing."

After speaking, she paused, feeling the fingers wrapped around her neck curl slightly. She then used one hand to temporarily loosen his legs, gently covering Chu Yi's hands clasped across his chest, and gave those cold fingers a reassuring, very brief squeeze. "Hold on tight."

The movement was very light, and Zhou Ai's hand quickly returned to the lifting position, as if it were just a subconscious action to ensure safety.

But Chu Yi's heart skipped a beat because of the warmth and strength of the fingers that enveloped his fingertips, as if the rough touch and warmth of the other's palm still lingered on his fingertips.

He pursed his lips, buried his face deeper into Zhou Ai's neck and shoulder, and silently tightened his arms around her.

Zhou Ai took a deep breath, her sharp eyes scanning the area above, searching for any vegetation or relatively stable clods of earth she could use for support, and began a new and more difficult climb.

Every step is like sinking into soft mud, requiring immense core strength and perseverance to pull oneself out, while constantly being vigilant against the possibility of another landslide.

They were unaware that the outside world had been turned upside down because of them, nor that rescue efforts were making a difficult attempt to reach them.

Zhou Ai's only thought was: Chu Yi must get out of here alive.

Fortunately, the rain that had lasted almost all day finally showed signs of stopping. The rain became sparse, and a few faint rays of light even pierced through the gray sky, indicating that the sun might soon struggle to emerge.

The two trekked intermittently for nearly three hours along the extremely difficult mountain path left by the landslide.

Chu Yi lay on Zhou Ai's back, and could clearly feel the increasingly heavy breathing and the gradually slowing but more strenuous steps of the person beneath him. With each step, the muscles in the arms supporting his legs trembled slightly uncontrollably.

Zhou Ai's physical strength had clearly been pushed to its limit.

"The rain has stopped. Let's rest for a while before we go. It looks like the sun is about to come out." Chu Yi patted Zhou Ai's sweaty shoulder, stopping him from continuing forward.

Zhou Ai, panting heavily, looked up at the changing weather before letting out a sigh of relief and finally stopping.

Carefully, I put Chu Yi down from my back and let him sit on a relatively dry rock, leaning against my backpack.

Then he took off the backpack from his chest, and finally breathed a sigh of relief. He slumped down against Chu Yi, almost completely exhausted, his chest heaving as he gasped for breath, unable to utter a single word.

Chu Yi turned to look at Zhou Ai, who was leaning against him. Zhou Ai looked rather disheveled, but still possessed a striking charm that resembled battle-worn beauty.

The black hair on her forehead and temples was completely soaked by sweat and drizzle, sticking messily to her face and neck, outlining a distinct yet feminine facial contour.

Water droplets rolled down his full forehead and high nose, slid over his lips which were tightly pursed and had lost some color due to excessive exertion, and finally dripped onto his mud-stained windbreaker.

His cheeks were flushed an unnatural red from the sustained high-intensity exercise, and tiny water droplets clung to his long eyelashes, trembling slightly with his heavy breathing.

Those usually languid, smiling eyes were now tightly closed, and his brows were furrowed with exhaustion and forbearance, which only accentuated his unwavering masculine spirit.

Looking at him like this, Chu Yi felt as if something had ripped her heart out, causing her both soreness and pain.

He unscrewed the water bottle cap, held the water to Zhou Ai's lips, and unconsciously softened his voice: "Sip it slowly, don't rush."

Zhou Ai simply waved his hand wearily, seemingly too weak to even lift it, still immersed in the intense panting of exhaustion, a hoarse sound emanating from his throat. Sweat mixed with residual rainwater dripped continuously from his well-defined jawline.

Chu Yi could fully imagine how terrifying this exhaustion was.

Yesterday, he was exhausted from walking alone up the mountain, let alone Zhou Ai carrying the full weight of him, an adult man, plus a heavy backpack stuffed with supplies, on a death road that had been completely destroyed by torrential rain and landslides, making it doubly difficult.

As if possessed, Chu Yi reached out and gently brushed away a strand of silver hair from Zhou Ai's side, which was soaked with sweat and rain, clung to his temples, and even somewhat obstructed his view.

Then, she used the back of her hand to wipe away the water droplets that kept sliding down Zhou Ai's cheeks in a very natural way.

The cool fingertips and the back of her hand touched her burning cheek, and Zhou Ai's heavy breathing suddenly stopped, and she abruptly opened her eyes.

Those peach blossom eyes, slightly blurred with fatigue, now clearly reflected Chu Yi's face, which was close at hand, filled with worry and undisguised heartache.

Zhou Ai's heart felt like it had been struck hard by something, and a long-suppressed emotion mixed with the fear of surviving a disaster suddenly broke through all the dams of reason.

He suddenly reached out and grabbed Chu Yi's wrist before he could retract it, squeezing it so hard it almost hurt.

"Chu Yi," Zhou Ai's voice was terribly hoarse, unsteady from heavy breathing, but her eyes shone with an astonishing brightness as she locked onto him, "If—"

Zhou Ai paused in his speech, and Chu Yi watched as his prominent Adam's apple bobbed violently up and down, and could even clearly hear the sound of him swallowing saliva.

After waiting a few seconds without any further response, Zhou Ai seemed to have made up her mind.

But in the next second, Zhou Ai's muddy, sweaty, and disheveled yet excessively handsome face suddenly loomed close to Chu Yi.

"There are no 'ifs'," Zhou Ai's voice was low and resolute, carrying a desperate madness, "Just assume I'm going to die any second now."

Before he could finish speaking, and before Chu Yi could fully react, Zhou Aibing's cool yet soft lips precisely covered his slightly parted lips, which were agape in surprise.

The kiss came unexpectedly, like a sudden storm, instantly overwhelming all of Chu Yi's senses.

Zhou Ai's lips were cool from the mountain rain, yet the moment they touched, they quickly ignited with an astonishing heat.

His kisses were haphazard, even clumsy and impulsive, yet full of dominance and possessiveness, just like him—once he'd made up his mind, there was no turning back, he would conquer and seize territory.

Chu Yi's mind went blank, as if the sudden attack had pressed the pause button.

He could clearly feel Zhou Ai's hot breath spraying onto his face, feel his heart pounding wildly in his chest due to the intense exercise and tension, and feel the calloused fingers gripping his wrist trembling slightly.

The expected struggle and push did not occur.

Chu Yi simply endured it stiffly, her eyelashes trembling violently, as if she were nailed to the spot.

Perhaps he was stunned by Zhou Ai's resolute "ready to die" demeanor, or perhaps it was some emotion deep in his heart that he himself was unaware of, but he forgot to resist.

Zhou Ai's kiss deepened, as if she wanted to pour all the testing, anxiety, longing, and fear of surviving the ordeal into it.

It was a desperate demand for confirmation, tinged with a reckless madness.

Chu Yi felt the air around her getting thinner and thinner, the oxygen in her lungs being squeezed out little by little, making her dizzy and her vision even begin to go black.

She unconsciously emitted a nasal sound that was almost a sob, and her body went slightly limp due to lack of oxygen.

As if sensing his discomfort, Zhou Ai's frantic plundering motion suddenly stopped, then became extremely gentle.

He reluctantly and slowly withdrew a little, finally leaving those two lips that he had ravaged and made somewhat red and swollen.

Fresh air rushed in instantly, and Chu Yi subconsciously gasped for breath, her chest heaving violently, her cheeks flushed, her eyes unfocused, still immersed in the almost suffocating kiss just now, not yet back to her senses.

Zhou Ai wasn't in much better shape. He pressed his burning forehead against Chu Yi's neck, breathing heavily, his hot breath spraying onto Chu Yi's sensitive neck skin, causing a series of shivers.

Their rapid breathing mingled in the silent mountains, creating an ambiguous atmosphere that made one's heart race.

After a few seconds of silence, Zhou Ai's deep, hoarse voice came from Chu Yi's neck, carrying unsteady panting and a kind of resigned honesty:

"Chu Yi." He called his name, his voice trembling with a barely perceptible sob, "I can't apologize for this."

He paused, as if using all his strength, before squeezing out the rest of his words, haltingly yet with unparalleled clarity. Each word felt like a branding iron searing into Chu Yi's heart:

"Once we get out... do with me as you please... it's up to you."

"But..." His arms tightened unconsciously, holding the person in his arms even tighter, as if afraid that if he let go, they would disappear. His voice carried an almost humble plea, "...but don't hide from me."

"Please."

Zhou Ai's breathing was still unsteady, and his words were fragmented due to his panting, but Chu Yi heard them clearly. Every syllable hit his eardrums hard, reaching the softest part of his heart and stirring up a storm.